day 5: cedar to mcdonald campground

we met our first companion on the same journey today. he rolled down the hill after us to purchase a ferry ticket, and i couldn't help notice his yellow ortlieb panniers and other bags of stuff loaded on the rear rack.  he definitely looked like he was heading somewhere good. we were buying some snacks and (what has now become) my daily sweetened matcha latte when he zipped by. i said to samuel, "let's go talk to that guy."

turns out he's from germany, just graduated from university, and wanted to do something awesome after this big milestone. his name is andy and his legs are like two thick spaghetti noodles. they are hypnotic to watch move up and down, but i try not to stare so as to freak him out. you know what stands out about andy? he laughs easily. i really like that about him. 

he also eats half of what we've been devouring even though he's as tall as samuel and i put together. we've discussed this matter extensively over a ferry ride and then again during dinner. 

but before i get to the four course meal i cooked for three, let me tell you how we woke up today. 

(we were sad to say goodbye) 

we woke up in a big comfy bed with clean soft sheets and remembered that we weren't dreaming. no ma'am. we were at steph and kevin's place and all of last night's pampering was very real. i woke up very hungry and ate two bowls of cereal! (not to mention 2nd breakfast an hour or so later. which reminds me of a woman we met on our last ferry, who cycled from vancouver to guadalajara two years ago, but now she was holding a baby in her belly. she said she gained weight on her trip because she ate as much as her male partner, but had really nice legs. lol...i predict that will be me in all three things: weight gain after cycling for 40 days, really nice legs, and perhaps a baby in a couple years. ha!) 

but anyway... 

back to the day. today was rough for samuel. it seemed like he was pretty tired after such a long day yesterday. and when we got hit with headwind over and over, it just made him more frustrated. totally makes sense. we have good days and we have hard days; this was a hard one. we kept it easy with only 39 miles to our campsite, where dinner happened (and a really cold bird bath). 

so dinner wasn't just about dinner. it was about getting rid of the ridiculous amount of dehydrated soups we brought. i started off with the sweet corn soup, then cous cous, then lentil soup with goat cheese (courtesy of andy) and finally a plate of dessert which included and assortment of m&m's, apple slices, almonds, chocolate, crackers, and peanut butter cups. shockingly, our food load is still quite a lot and i am just about ready to dump it all. there is more than enough provisions along the way. if you are ever considering this ride (which i hope you do), trust me, leave your dehydrated food at home. take each day as a new possibility to eat your weight in food, all of which you will find along the way!

tonight, i'm grateful for climbing two GIANT hills on salt spring island because it was SO MUCH FUN going downhill and for meeting andy. i'm also grateful for a night to get refreshed.